DALLAS – Lyndsey Medders simply wasn’t going to go home this early.

Even after losing to Texas by 30 earlier this season, and trailing by seven with just over six minutes left in Tuesday’s first-round Big 12 game, the ISU women’s basketball team found a way to win, 72-68.

Medders just didn’t want to leave yet.

“I unpacked everything in my bag [when we got here],” Medders said. “When [I’m] out there, the last thing I want to think about is having to go back to the hotel and pack my bag up.”

It was a balanced attack from the Cyclones, who used 19 points from both Brittany Wilkins and Heather Ezell, and 17 points from Medders to top the Longhorns.

Those 17 points put Medders just eight points shy of scoring 1,000 for her career. Only 16 Cyclones have previously hit the 1,000-point plateau.

Defensively, the Cyclones out rebounded the Longhorns 42-33 – a stat ISU coach Bill Fennelly was thrilled with.

“The fact that we out rebounded Texas by nine is a stat I never thought I’d see against a Texas team,” he said.

Wilkins agreed, and said she was happy with how the defense held up, especially with Texas’ power in the lane.

“The defensive plan the coach came up with was great,” Wilkins said.

“We wanted to keep Tiffany Jackson away from the basket.”

Both offensively and defensively, Medders credited the Cyclone scout team for preparing them adequately.

“We didn’t play our best game in Austin,” she said. “Our scout team plays harder defense on us than I think even Texas does, so we were better prepared for that.”

Despite playing just six players to Texas’ 11, Iowa State continuously hustled up and down the court before and after time-outs.

The Cyclones are 3-1 when playing just six players.

“We were pretty tired, and I did not want Texas to even have a glimpse that we were struggling,” Fennelly said. “We needed to keep them energized.”

Although the Cyclones were decidedly shorthanded, they still gave the Longhorns all they could handle, and more.

“The are very hard to guard, there’s no question,” said Texas coach Jody Conradt. “I don’t think there’s another team in America that is as hard to guard as they are because they all score well.

“They wait for you to make a mistake and then knock down the threes better than any team I’ve played against.”

With the victory, the Cyclones secured a date with No. 1-seed Oklahoma, who has yet to lose in Big 12 play. The Sooners beat the Cyclones 87-67 on Jan. 4.

“We can use that in momentum going into our game tomorrow against Oklahoma,” Wilkins said.

“It was our Big 12 opener, they beat us at home, and we remember that stuff.”

Doubt the Cyclones memory? Just ask Texas.

“The game in Austin was a game that we remember,” Wilkins said. “That stuck with us.”

The Iowa State-Oklahoma game tips off at noon Wednesday, and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net.